


Stitches

by Pearl09



Series: Of Kisses and Feelings [6]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries, No Dialogue, Protective Jaskier | Dandelion, Stitches, kind of, only prose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26358214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl09/pseuds/Pearl09
Summary: It's surprising what Jaskier learned in Oxenfurt, and what he can put into practice. It comes in handy traveling around with a witcher who doesn't really understand that he's supposed to take care of himself.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Of Kisses and Feelings [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1855207
Comments: 9
Kudos: 105
Collections: Kisses Bingo





	Stitches

**Author's Note:**

> Another bingo fill! This time I actually did both prompts in the square for this one - patching up a wound was the non-kiss prompt, and I snuck a corner of the mouth kiss in there too!
> 
> If you haven't played TW3, all the potions and ingredients I reference come from that

While Jaskier may not seem like the type, he did learn more than just the seven liberal arts while he studied in Oxenfurt. He had a few open hours in his semesters and his professors all urged him to fill them, no matter if he needed the class or not. More than likely, they wanted to limit the hours he had free, so he had less of a chance to cause a ruckus. So, he took various other classes, too. While he could never do anything official with his knowledge, he could hold his own in a handful of subjects.

The one that’s come up the most often is medicine. While he doesn’t like getting blood on his hands, he can stitch someone else if there is no alternative. The few times he’s had to do this, he recommended they see a professional when they could. He knows about different plants and their benefits too. How he can identify them and how he can use them. Originally, when he first graduated and started traveling, this wasn’t as useful. But it’s come in handy more than once after crossing paths with Geralt.

Following the witcher around as often as he had, he realized that he didn’t really know how to take care of himself properly. They had their potions, and that was all he ever used whenever he was injured. Jaskier decided this wasn’t enough. Just sitting there with an open wound, waiting for the potions to take affect and heal it, wasn’t satisfactory. 

The first change he made was gathering the coin to buy a larger bag. He needed more room than just his small satchel he carried around. No longer was he only carrying his writing materials. No, he started picking the flowers and other herbs that he came across that he knew would be helpful. Hanfiber grew tall like weeds, pringrape was common near the farms, crows eyes and blowballs and celandine and – well, there were a lot of useful plants.

He started learning more about the witcher’s potions, too. In the back of his notebook existed a page of quick scribbles as he kept note of the potions Geralt would name, as well as what he took them for. Cat was for night vision. Swallow was for regeneration. He took Black Blood when he was going to fight a necrophage, or the rare vampire. Some of them he had to label by the color of the potion, for Geralt never mentioned the name. Some of the colors were scribbled out to be replaced with their actual name.

All this information, all the ingredients and supplies he was collecting, and Geralt didn’t seem to notice. That was, until he came out of a cave a little worse for wear.

Jaskier insisted he would help him. Geralt warded off his protests at first. He had heard it all before and didn’t think anything of it. When he settled down to rest, however, and Jaskier brought over his bag, he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow in question. Jaskier set his notebook to the side and started sorting through herbs, tearing a few into pieces and mixing them with a touch of water to make a paste. He brought his hand close to Geralt’s arm, muttering some nonsense about the monster Geralt had fought and wondering if he could add this to the song. Geralt flinched away before he could reach the wound, however, earning a chastising remark. Jaskier gently gripped his wrist to hold his arm in place and smoothed the mixture over the open wound.

Geralt watched with intent interest, the conversation Jaskier was trying to have lost on him. He had no idea that Jaskier actually knew anything about medicine – he delicately wrapped the wound in a fresh bandage and made sure it was secure, and if Geralt didn’t know any better, he would have thought Jaskier a practiced medic. He immediately picked up his discarded notebook, opened it to a fresh page, and started pestering Geralt for information of what happened in the cave.

Ever since then, whenever Geralt received more than just a small scratch, Jaskier was there to patch him up. It happened so often that Geralt started missing it if they weren’t together. The wounds Jaskier patched up healed nicer than a witcher potion would have, with little to no scars left behind. He stopped protesting whenever he sat down after a monster fight, letting Jaskier look him over. He almost started craving the soft way Jaskier would hold him to keep him still and the cool medicine he delicately smoothed over the wound.

Geralt was further surprised twice more in their travels. The first was when Jaskier revealed his knowledge of the witcher potions. The ghouls seemed to come from nowhere, attacking them as they traveled alone on the road. Quick as a flash, Geralt jumped off of Roach and pulled out his silver sword, cutting off the head of the one closest to Jaskier. To keep him safe, he quickly tossed Jaskier up onto Roach, trusting her to stay out of the way.

Jaskier was startled, but once he regained his senses and understood what had happened, he righted himself onto Roach and immediately started rummaging around in her saddlebags. Before the ghouls could overwhelm Geralt, Jaskier found the small vial full of the sickly black potion and called out to Geralt, tossing it to him. It caught him off guard for a moment, but Geralt quickly popped the cork and downed the potion in one gulp before getting back into the fight.

He later learned about the notes Jaskier had been taking and just how much he had learned about his witcher potions. After making sure he didn’t know what ingredients actually made up the potions, for they were dangerous to a normal human, Geralt surprised himself by offering to correct his notes. The page of scribbles and crossed out words was discarded, and Jaskier was able to make a fresh, easier to read page with the official names and their proper effects.

The second time was when Geralt suffered from a deeper wound than Jaskier had dealt with. He was certain it would scar, and almost wondered if Jaskier would even know how to treat it. Of course, Jaskier noticed right away. It was hard to miss the slash across his chest when it cut through his armor. With a sigh, Jaskier gestured for him to sit down and started rummaging through the saddlebags. When he tossed a bottle of swallow over, Geralt almost thought he was giving up on this one. But as Geralt swallowed the potion, Jaskier continued digging, retrieving a needle and thread.

Of course, Geralt was weary. Mixing herbs and covering wounds was one thing. Stitches was another entirely. He didn’t know what to expect from Jaskier, an unofficial medic. Jaskier, however, didn’t care. He was getting treatment, whether he liked it or not. After urging him to take off his armor and expose his chest, Jaskier was sure to use gentle hands as he laid them on his bare skin.

His touch was electrifying as he used a damp cloth to clean the wound. It was important to keep it clear of possible infections. Then his fingers danced across Geralt’s chest as deftly as they strum his lute, stitching the wound closed. There was something rather intimate to it as Jaskier pressed into his skin, and Geralt found himself almost entranced, distracted by the sharp sting of the needle by Jaskier’s tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth and the way his brow furrowed in concentration. 

When the wound was closed, Jaskier applied his normal salve to it and had Geralt sit up so he could wrap it properly. Once it had been taken care of and Jaskier handed Geralt one of his shirts to put back on, he offered him a smile after finding Geralt’s almost dazed expression. Without thinking, he took a risk and leaned in to press a chaste kiss to the corner of Geralt’s mouth, fingers ghosting over the wound under his shirt. It was a promise for the future, and as Geralt chased after him as he pulled away, frowning under Jaskier’s gentle hands pushing him back down before he popped the stitches, he knew he made the right choice.

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang with me on [tumblr!](https://pearlll09.tumblr.com/)


End file.
